The Four Guardians
by BlueFairyKino
Summary: An AU of the anime of MKR-When an old friend of Clef's suddenly appears after a century, things aren't just about Zagato anymore. Akuma, a demon with an entire council under his command, enters the picture, and something it obvious-this is gonna be a looong journey. Rated T for safety reasons and future chapters.
1. Prolouge

**NEW FANFIC YEAY**

**And guess what? Like most I'll be posting, it's a reboot! Of 'The Seven Prayers'. But it's a LOT different this time!**

**How?**

**YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEEEEE~**

**(it's and AU to the anime, BTW)**

**Anyway...prolouge!**

* * *

_'Some say they exist...some don't.'_

Brown boots crushed the grass under them. The feet wearing them were running.

_'They say that they protect us alongside the Pillar...'_

A scattered rock sent the person down. Dark blue jeans were splattered with mud, the gold embroidery on the rims darkening from the wet dirt.

_'They each have a partner and a messenger, but nobody knows their names.'_

The storm that was raging broke a branch that fell and scratched the person, breaking through a dark green jacket, held closed by a red bow. The skin that was scratched was shown, since the red shirt _she _wore was sleeveless.

_'They call them...'_

Dark magenta hair whipped as she jumped up, a growl sounding through the air. Pale skin was dirtied with mud, but the woman didn't mind it. This was normal for her.

_'The Four Guardians.'_

Dark brown eyes locked onto the monster that was after her.

*FWOOOSH*

In an instant, raging flames unaffected by the weather formed red claws on her hands. The female slashed the creature...taking it down instantly.

_"Tekina, now."_

"Got it."

Tekina snatched a white pocketwatch from the brown satchel that hung around her shoulder. She quickly opened it.

The hands, normally broken, started moving rapidly. One clockwise, one counterclockwise. The monster in front of her faded into black smoke that was sucked into the watch. When it was all in, Tekina quickly shut the watch.

It was locked for a bit...before a 'click' sounded. She opened it back up, and small balls of white light rose from it, fading up into the sky, which was starting to clear up.

Tekina sighed. "What was that? The number, I mean." _"I've lost count, but it is definently over 100. 100 souls, turned into monsters...horrid demons..."_

A frown creased on her face. "And still no lead...any luck up there?" Whoever she was talking to sighed. _"We have been searching for a while with no luck...Tekina, you need a break." _She blinked. "You sure?" _"Positive...hasn't it been a while since you visited your friend?"_

"He thinks I'm dead, probably. After what happened..." Tekina had a solemn look on her face. _"Even so...you want to see him, don't you?"_

"...yeah."

She slid the pocketwatch back into her bag. "But I overheard that he's gone missing. After he went to go greet those knights."

_"Hmm...wait...was there not a landslide the day he went missing? Perhaps..."_

"And we know who did it. Damn animal...where was it again? Near that seaside village, right?" _"Indeed. It may help to look around there-specifically where the rubble landed. If our suspicions are correct..."_

Tekina sighed. "Then Clef was trapped under there, or at least somewhere near it."

'Teki-tan, let's hurry! I wanna see Cle-tan!'

A chibi dragon-like creature peeked out from behind her back. It had a brown body, evergreen scales, and grey robotic arms. Tekina smirked. "Alright, alright. Be patient, Kitan. We'll see him together, eh?" She pat the small creature's head before she started walking again...dark red wing-shaped horns that started behind her ears lost their glow at the telepathy ended.

_It's been 100 years, ya kiddy mage. Wait just a bit longer, 'kay?_

* * *

**IS SHE CUTE-BUT-COMPLETELY-BADASS YET?**

**IS SHE?**

**XD anyway, that's it for the prolouge! Also, I'm introducing something-forshadowing! It'll include lines that I BELIEVE will enter the next chapter-I'll try to fit them in!**

**ALSO.**

**Guess what? You can actually interact with Tekina herself! It's on Tumblr, at custodes-integritatis. GO FOLLOW ME 8D**

**Next time...**

**_"Oi."_**

**_The fire knight looked towards the voice. A girl with a mythical-like outfit, long magenta hair in braids, and wing-shaped horns was the source._**

**_"If you're looking for the master mage, he's at a village by the sea." She handed Hikaru a slip of paper. "Those are the directions to get to the place from here." The young girl blinked. "U-Um..."_**

**_Umi glared. "Hey! What's with the sudden push? And how do YOU know where he is?! Are you a servant of-"_**

**_"If you're gonna compare me to someone like Zagato, then you are dead wrong. And..." She smirked. "I happen to know it because me and Clef know each other."_**

**_"TONS of people seem to know him!"_**

**_The woman smirked at the water knight. "I know him well. That's all I'm saying for now."_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Newwwww chaptterrrrr =3**

**YES I KNOW IT'S SOON**

**I wanna get this rolling, kay?**

**FYI, there WILL be filler chapters. But that's mostly for character development ^^**

**Anyway...here we go~!**

**Don't forget that you can interact with Tekina and Kitan on Tumblr. The URL is custodes-integritatis.**

**Without the period XD**

* * *

"..."

"...um..."

"..."

Poke.

"WHAT?!"

Hikaru stepped back at Umi's outburst. "Y-You just looked a bit annoyed, Umi-chan." Fuu nodded. "You have been for a while."

The water knight glared at practically nothing. "It's just that we haven't heard from that midget in forever! How come he left us to fend for ourselves?!"

Fuu frowned. "It is concerning that we have not heard from Clef in a while...I wonder if something happened."

Umi grumbled to herself a bit before smirking and shooting up, surprising the other two. "THAT'S IT! We'll just go and find the little rascal!" Hikaru blinked. "Umi-chan, that's a great idea, but...how will we know where to look for him?"

Aaaaand she sunk down again. "Good point..." Hikaru started wondering about where Clef could be...

"Oi."

The fire knight looked towards the voice. A girl with a mythical-like outfit, long magenta hair in braids, and wing shaped horns was the source.

"If your looking for the master mage, he's at a village by the sea." She handed Hikaru a slip of paper. "Those are the directions to get to the place from here." The young girl blinked. "U-Um..."

Umi glared. "Hey! What's with the sudden push? And how do YOU know where he is?! Are you a servant of-"

"If you're going to compare me to someone like Zagato, then you are dead wrong. And..." She smirked. "I happen to know it because me and Clef know each other."

"TONS of people seem to know him!"

The woman smirked at the water knight. "I know him well. That's all I'm saying for now."

This time, Fuu responded. "For now? What do you mean, miss?" The woman kept up the smirk. "We'll meet again. I can feel it." She then walked away.

Umi growled. "What is WITH that woman? She appears out of nowhere and _happens _to know who we're looking for, and attempts to sweet-talk us! I don't trust her!"

"I do."

Umi looked at Hikaru like she was crazy. The fire knight frowned. "I don't know why, but I feel she's telling the truth. And besides, it's a lead..." Fuu nodded. "And her knowing Clef probably wasn't a lie, either."

"...fine. Let's go."

_"Puu!"_

A certain fluffball then hopped onto Hikaru's shoulder. She smiled. "Come on, Mokona! Let's go!"

* * *

They got there quickly, thanks to Mokona's powers. Hikaru instantly went to the beach. "Right...this is where the cliffside was. Right up...there..."

The three knights noticed that the cliff was broken-it was obvious it had been attacked or something. Fuu's hand came up to her mouth. "But...if that happened there...then...where..."

Their eyes then trailed to a pile of rocks and rubble...directly below the crumbled cliff. Umi's eyes widened. "Oh god...oh god no...y-you guys don't think that..."

Hikaru shook her head. "No. Clef's definently stronger than that. Either he's not there, or..."

_He's...trapped under...the rubble..._

"Hey!"

The girl from before ran up to them. When she saw what they were looking at, she stopped instantly. _No...don't tell me...well, only one way to find out._

The woman closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them back up, she finally spoke. "He's still under that. There's an opening he made-somehow-in the side of the cliff. And those rocks recently fell...meaning a previous landslide shut off the entrance."

Hikaru frowned. "So he's trapped." The woman nodded before beginning to walk over to the pile. Umi then said "Wait! Who are you?"

"..."

The girl smiled at them. "Tekina. Tekina Dragooniss Densetsu."

Fuu blinked. "Tekina...someone who knows Clef..."

Hikaru stared at the woman as she leaned down near the pile of rubble. _Her smile...it had no inch of happiness at all._

Mokona frowned and lightly nudged Hikaru. She lightly smiled at the creature as a sign that she was ok.

A squawk of sorts then sounded in the air. Fuu looked up. "Look! It's the griffon!"

The bird-like creature landed near the debris, glaring down at Tekina. She stared at the creature before smiling and speaking in a gentle voice. "Hello, Ignee." The griffon, now known to be called Ignee, watched the girl before seeming to recognize her. It leaned down it's head and nudged her gently. She patted it's head before seemingly speaking to it.

The knights ran over, and Hikaru was the first to speak. "Well? What did he say?" Tekina frowned. "This was recent. He was being chased by something...Ignee doesn't know what it was, but it definently wasn't anyone linked to Zagato. I think they caused this." She started clearing away the rubble.

_Please, damn it...please be alive..._

Her eyes widened. "Some of the rocks made it into the opening." Tekina continued to clear it away.

Eventually...her hand found a bit of cloth. "I found him." When the rubble around the cloth was cleared...all four people there (five if you count Mokona) were shocked.

Clef was there, but in bad shape. His robes were ripped up, his body was bruised, and he was unconscious. Ignee whined and nudged his owner, only receiving a grunt in reply. The griffon gently got his owner out of the opening in the cliff.

The knights walked over to them. Hikaru frowned. "He's in really bad shape." Tekina sighed, a concerned and solemn look on her face. She mumbled something under her breath. "damnit, kid...you better survive..."

"...ngh..."

Tekina's eyes widened, as did the knight's. Clef's eyes slightly opened, a blank look in them. Despite looking like he was awake, the mage was obviously still unconcious.

"...Te...k...i...na...?" The woman frowned and lightly clasped the mage's hand. "I'm here, it's alright."

_It's anything BUT alright, in reality..._

Clef's eyes slowly closed again. Tekina picked him up, careful not to hurt him further. Hikaru noticed that Tekina wasn't really pulling him too close. _How weird..._

Tekina looked at the knights. "I think there's a clinic in the town. Let's hurry." The other three nodded and began running towards the clinic.

* * *

It was an hour later. Everything had been taken care of, and now the knights and Tekina were in the room Clef was in.

Tekina looked at the mage, a sad look in her eyes. _If we were too late, then...damnit...that damn animal..._

"...you guys should go."

The knights were surprised by Tekina's statement. "You have a mission, right? He wouldn't want you to lose confidence because of this..."

Hikaru shook her head. "We aren't leaving until we know he's going to be ok!" Umi and Fuu nodded in agreement. Tekina was quiet before she sadly smiled. "If you insist."

Now...Hikaru was a bit curious. "How do you know Clef? You say that you know him pretty well..." Tekina blinked before smiling. "I met him when we were both kids...he was pretty reserved back then, so I started the greeting."

That surprised the three girls. Fuu smiled. "So you are very close to him." Tekina nodded. "Yeah, but...we haven't seen each other for a while."

Umi then glanced outside. "It's getting late." Tekina smiled. "There's an inn just down the road...I'm staying here. If he wakes up in the middle of the night or something, I'll tell you tomorrow." Hikaru nodded. "Alright, Tekina." The knights then got up and went out of the room.

* * *

It was now very late. Tekina was still awake, though. She was a bit of a night owl.

She was still watching Clef. The mage hadn't even stirred since he was brought here, but he was still alive. That was all that mattered to her.

"...ngh..."

Tekina blinked as Clef's eyes opened. This time...he truly was awake.

"...? Te...kina?"

The woman smiled. "You're awake."

He looked around before trying to get up. "Geh!" He felt his entire body surge with pain.

Tekina gently held him up. "Be careful, you're still very hurt..." He frowned. "...how long...have I been..." Tekina sighed. "A day or so, from what Ignee told me...who was chasing you?"

"..." The silence told her it all. _Going after him to get info to find me...that damn animal is a huge coward._

A small hand then lightly grabbed her arm, as if Clef was worried she'd just vanish. Her other hand lightly ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Clef lightly smiled. "Thank...goodness..." His eyes closed as he fell asleep. And it didn't look like he was waking up anytime soon.

Tekina held onto the hand that was previously clutching her arm. _I wasn't too late...thank goodness... _Her smile stayed as she kept an eye on the sleeping mage.

The one who had stolen her heart, all those years ago.

He was still the same height he was back then. That shy little boy had become the master mage...

She smiled once more before laying her head on the bed nearby him. She wasn't leaving, not now, not ever again.

Even a century had been too long.

* * *

**WEEEEE SHIPPING~**

**Clefkina (as I now dub it) is gonna be one of the main pairings. NO, THIS DOES NOT MEAN I DON'T SHIP CLEMI, THEY ARE F***ING ADORABLE MKAY?**

**She's just ending up with Ascot in this one, alright? Alright.**

**Anyway...**

**Next time**

**_"Hey..."_**

**Tekina knew that voice. Very well.**

**And it wasn't one she wanted to hear.**

**_"HEY!"_**

**Her eyes widened. Hikaru looked at her, confused. "Tekina-san?" Even Kitan was a bit riled up.**

_**"Up here, moron."**_

**Up in a nearby tree was a completely black bird. It was as tall as a toddler, and had sharp talons.**

**A look of terror formed on Tekina's face.**

**"Akuma!"**


End file.
